Albert Lea Area Schools now has a deputy superintendent.

The school board unanimously voted Monday during its meeting to restructure the position of director of finance and operations held by Lori Volz as deputy superintendent.

Superintendent Mike Funk brought the proposal to the board, and the motion was carried.

Funk said five directors, six building principals and the lead teacher at the Area Learning Center all report to him. He said Volz had received her license to become a superintendent within the past month, so he suggested restructuring her contract to make her deputy superintendent to balance out some of those reports.

The deputy superintendent would oversee the director of teaching and learning and the director of special services. The three remaining directors and all of the building leaders would still report to Funk.

Funk said the director of teaching and learning and the director of special services both deal with finances, which correlates with Volz’s 30 years of financial experience.

With the approval of the motion, Volz’s salary increased by $2,000.

School board member Bill Leland said he thinks the restructuring is a proactive move on the administration’s part, and school board member Jeshua Erickson thanked Volz for taking on the role.

In other news, the school board:

• Listened to a superintendent report about the public hearing that occurred during the school board meeting.

• Listened to the student school board member report from Quinn Peterson. Peterson discussed the success of the girls’ soccer team and Homecoming Week.

• Reviewed and approved a Blue Zones Resolution presented by Ellen Kehr, organizational lead for the Blue Zones Project in Albert Lea. This resolution said 25 percent of Albert Lea schools must be Blue Zones schools by May 2015 and outlined a number of policies and programs the schools could use to attain that certification.

• Obtained a second reading of the bullying prohibition policy.